Meet Me At Dusk
by Laurent Forever
Summary: A predatory meeting leaves Jessica Stanley all but spellbound by this unknown man with the french accent. Little does she know he has found himself in the same dangerous position, not to mention face to face with his worst of fears... New Moon spoilers
1. Chapter 1 : Collision

**Meet Me At Dusk**

* * *

**Dusk** : _noun_  
- The state or period of partial darkness between day and night; the darkest part of twilight.

* * *

Libraries were so dull. At least, this was the thought going through Jessica Stanley's mind. With a quiet sigh she turned to another marked page in her book while scribbling down the research she was finding.

"Stupid paper," she mumbled to herself.

This research assignment was cutting into her social time and that did not bode well with her. It was Friday night. This wasn't something a normal teenager should be doing. Sitting at the public library, reading up on subjects she could care less about. She should be out with Lauren or Angela, listening to music in her room, or going to Port Angeles to see what fun they could find. Though, the library would not be open on Sunday and she wanted to get this over with so she wouldn't have to spend Saturday on it. If only her family would just give in and buy an internet package. Then she wouldn't have to ever go to the library again.

Her watch made a soft beeping sound and Jessica blinked in surprise as she looked at the little digital numbers.

"Seven o' clock already?" Her mother would kill her if she was late for dinner two nights in a row.  
Hastily, she gathered up the books she's selected and carried them to the counter to check them out. If only libraries could give you your books in plastic bags. It would be embarrassing if any of her friends saw her carrying these around. Sure, it wasn't that far of a walk to where she'd parted her car across the street, but even still, the chance was there. Where was Mike when she needed him? Wasn't that what boys were meant for, to carry your books and such?

She tucked her books against her so they wouldn't get too wet from the rain and darted out of the library. If she was fast enough it would lower the chances of anyone seeing her. The rain pelted down on her as she ran across the vacant street. It was already almost dark outside. The sky was light, for Forks, but it was that weird time between day and night.

"Ugh!" She whined as she stepped in an especially large puddle. She could feel the water soak right up the pant legs of her jeans.

Not wanting to stop in the rain at all, she kept going toward her car that she could see through the nasty weather.

'I'll just throw these in the passenger side,' she decided as she ran around the car to the other side.

What happened after that was a small blur. She squeaked as she ran headfirst into something- it had to be a thing. A person would have at least made for a softer impact. She stumbled backward and landed on the wet ground, books scattering around her into the puddles.

"What the...?! Darn it!" She grabbed the books as fast as she could so they couldn't get wet. The seat of her jeans were soaked, as well as he legs, so it didn't much matter any more. On hand and knee she crawled to the last book.

There, next to the book, she saw herself looking at a shoe. What was a shoe doing out here. She blinked again before realizing that the shoe did indeed have a foot inside it...that was connected to an ankle...a leg... Slowly she looked up against the rain.

"Are you alright?"

"I..." She stuttered, staring. The man in front of her had to be one of the most beautiful she has ever seen. He was wearing a black jacket and jeans, his hair was short and black, glossy even through the rain.

"Let me help you." He leaned over and took the books from her hands before she could protest. Why would she want to, though? His voice was beautiful and she couldn't bring herself to say no.

"Do...do I know you...?"

"No." He opened the passenger door of her car and sat the books on the seat.

"Oh." She stood clumsily, trying to tell herself to just thank the man and get in her car.

He shut the door, then looked back at her. His eyes actually looked black, maybe with a bit of red in them. She was sure it had to be the effect from how dark it was, though.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes." She nodded, trying to pick out his accent. Was it French? She'd never heard anyone in Forks have a French accent before.

The male grinned at her, but just with one corner of his lips, then stepped closer. Something told her mind to get away, but she couldn't move. All she could do was stare into his eyes. He seemed almost predatory.

"Who are you?"

"Just a stranger. But...you should not be allowed to talk to strangers, am I right?" He took another step forward. He wasn't trying to hide it at all.

"N-no..."

"Then I will say no more." In what she swore was an impossible distance to cover in one step, his foot moved a single time and he was an inch from her face. He lifted a hand and brushed his fingertips over her cheek in a feather-light touch.

Her entire body shuddered. His skin was so cold...but the way he smelled was overwhelming. All she could do was stare. He voice was trapped in her throat as this remarkable being stood in front of her...or rather against her now. What was he doing?

'This is it,' she thought. 'There's no way I can get away. He's going to do something horrible and there will be no one here to save me!'

She could scream. Maybe someone in the library would hear her. Of course, to do that she would actually have to be able to speak, at least.

He leaned closer to her and she half expected him to kiss her. Instead he shut his eyes and inhaled softly but deeply. His smile grew more as he exhaled.

"Do I smell good or something?" Of all the things to suddenly be able to say...

He chuckled quietly at those words, a deep and gentle rumble that made her knees even more weak.  
"You have no idea."

She didn't see him open his eyes because her own shut at that moment. Her head started to spin. His breath smelled so good. Intoxicating, even. "You...smell good, too..."

There was a couple seconds of silence, with the exception of the sound of the rain hitting the world around her. She began wondering if she would open her eyes to see she was alone again. The thought relieved her as well as disappointed. But a hand found her cheek again, then another was on her shoulder, pulling her closer. She stepped to him without argument.

"Do I entice you?"

"Yes," she whispered. "Stop it." Her voice didn't sound convincing in her own ears.

He laughed quietly and combed his fingers through the tangled curls of her hair.

"Really," she continued, but her voice was a little muffled. She realized she had laid her head on his chest. "People will be upset?"

"Will they?" His tempting voice murmured.

"Mmhmm."

She thought she heard him begin to say something, but then his body tensed against hers. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him through a groggy expression. He was staring off into the darkness with an intent look.

"Well then," he said. "We wouldn't want to upset anyone."

He shifted, pulling away from her, and she frowned. "Wait."

"No, no, you decided it." He gave a smile that was more of a smirk.

"But, no! I just..."

But he shook his head and raised a hand, stepping back again.  
"Go on home. I'm sure your family will be waiting for you."

Lightening cracked through the sky above them. She looked at the man who stood before her, now lit for half a second. He was frighteningly stunning. The lightening calmed and the world grew dark again. Her eyes tried to readjust, but he was gone by the time they did.

She stood there in the rain, dripping to the bone. Ten minutes had to have passed. Eventually she heard a sound rustle in the bushes beside her. At first her hopes went up, but she quickly came to the realization that it was probably an animal. With that thought, she forced her legs to work and ran to the other side of her car. Her eyes lingered at the pile of books on the passenger seat. Finally, she reached over and locked the door, then started the car, toward home.


	2. Chapter 2 : Decision

(The chapters are going to take turns. Every other one will be from Jessica's point of view. The rest will be from...well...you know. grin )

* * *

**Chapter 2** **Decision**

* * *

_'So the wolves are still here,' _Laurent thought, leaning back farther in his chair, head tilted back as he stared up at the ceiling of the old house. This was certainly going to complicate things. Of course he hadn't expected them to be, but he hadn't thought they would still be hunting at night.

"What are you thinking about?"

He pulled himself back to reality and looked over at the female who perched on the edge of the table. Her wild red hair was even more untamed than usual today.

"Various things."

"Like what?"

"Does it really matter, Victoria? How about I use the excuse that I'm just digesting?"

The female vampire snorted at that answer, then slid off the table.

"Really, after all that's happened recently, you should know I would have a lot on my mind."

"Of course I know that," she hissed. "But is it a crime to be curious?"

"In some countries."

She scoffed and stormed out of the house, stepping over a mangled body in the doorway in the process.

"You should dispose of that while you're out there. Don't forget your table manners!"

Victoria snarled and that made him laugh for a moment before he slid back into thought. There was no way of knowing for sure if the werewolves had picked up on his scent. It was reckless of him to linger there with that girl for so long. He should have just killed her on the spot and brought her to Victoria so they could feed peacefully, rather than have to destroy a home willed with farmers the way they had tonight.  
Come to think of it, why was he doing the hunting? Wasn't that normally the female of the group's job? He was supposed to be resting. Sure, he had almost regained his strength since that attack from the wolves, but it was a wonderful excuse to be lazy when he needed one.  
Several things toyed with his mind, though, other than the dinner arrangements.  
One, why had he been so entertained by the girl's helplessness? It would have been so easy to cart her off. She would have come with him willingly. Instead he stood there and played for her.  
Two, she had said he smelled good. It flattered him and added to his ever-growing ego.  
Three, in addition to number one, why had she not been more afraid? He had not begun his hunting until after he had been in her presence for a moment. She should have sensed the danger and run in fear. Was she just foolish? Dense, perhaps?  
Four, the thing he was more disgusted with than anything...he had...well...

"No," he said aloud, derailing his thoughts. The last one wasn't important. It was distracting, more than anything. He wouldn't think about it.

He paced the room a few times, thinking of a plan.

"What are you protesting to yourself about?" Victoria walked back into the house, glaring. "Or am I not allowed to ask that, either?"

"No, you aren't."

"Laurent-!" She stopped herself and trudged back outside, angrily.

Again the male vampire laughed in triumph, but it was half-hearted. He had other things on his mind.

_'This girl...'_ He stopped and shook his head quickly, as if to shake the curiosities he had about her away. It was ridiculous, really. He was allowing a petty human girl to take over his thoughts. Was he really to the point of his life where he was so bored that he needed simple things like this to entertain him? There was only one way to settle this.

"Victoria!"

In a flash of red hair, the feline-like woman was there, perched again on the table in a crouched position.

"Would you be terribly offended if I asked for you help on something?"

She raised a brow.  
"Hardly a few moments ago you chased me from the room with a harsh tone. Now you stand there and ask for my help?"

"Yes, pretty much." Laurent gave a hopeful smile, one that she couldn't help but mirror, even if it was a touch more cruel than his own.

"Well then, get on with it?"

"I need you to play a decoy."

Again her brow rose as she nodded once, silently gesturing for him to continue.

"Cross down near LaPush tomorrow. Lead those dogs as far south of here as you can. Just for a few hours. That is all the time I will need."

"And what are you planning on doing?"

He hesitated, trying to hide this, but Victoria's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Somewhat of a personal curiosity. I would like to investigate something without having to worry about tossing biscuits around to derail canines from my trail."

To his relief, she asked no more questions, but simply nodded again.

"I will make it up to you. If you wish, I will do the same thing on another day."

"And what would the purpose be." She eyed him, curious.

"The Cullen's will still be guarding their pet, of course, but this way you won't have a pack of wolves to fight around."

An evil grin danced over her lips, proving that the idea appealed to her.  
"You have a deal."

And so the night passed, calm and undisturbed. Laurent found himself with his hands in his pockets, walking through the forest at a strangely human pace. The past few hours had pulled him here, his mind now passing around thoughts and theories that he would have scolded himself at any other time for thinking about or rekindling. None of it made sense, but yet it all made too much sense.

He sat down on a log, one from a tree that had to have fallen less than a year ago.  
_'Such a long time to a human,'_ he reminded himself.

Deep red eyes looked up through the branches of the forest. A few single stars were visible though the clouds, beautiful, but nothing like the diamond-flecked skies he's seen in Alaska.  
"...and such a short time for me," he whispered in response to his thoughts.

His eyes shut and he gave himself over completely to his dreams. Though, they were more of daydreams in the night, as there was no way he could fall into a sleep to have a real dream.

For so many years it had been this way. His human life was all a blur at this point, so there was little sense in looking back so many centuries at that. After he had taken his new lifestyle, he had met many people. James was the strongest in his mind. James and Victoria. There was little affection visible to the unknowing eye, but they had been strong mates. She was confident in him, never doubting anything he reached for. James had all but worshipped Victoria. She required distance from time to time and he gave that to her without argument. They had been perfect for one another.

Bella, that silly human girl who had started this whole mess. She stood out in his mind as well. She was the enigma...the girl who loved the vampire. James had looked upon her as a game and a challenge. Victoria had accepted this with no fear that James would fail. But it grew complicated. Edward Cullen had been part of this game. It was him who had protected Bella so heavily and sparked James' interest.

"And James' failed," he again whispered out loud, too quiet for any mortal ear to pick up.  
Now they were in a war dance, mate for mate. Edward and his family had destroyed James, so now Victoria wanted to have her revenge on Bella. It all had a pattern, to Laurent. Everything revolved around one factor- relationships. Everywhere he walked in life, he found relationships weaved around like a maze. Not the average aquantence sort of relationships, but the deeper affectionate kind.

His eyes opened to the world around him, the sky beginning to lighten. Time passed so quickly for him, but so slowly to a majority of the rest of the world. This is the way it would always be, he assumed. That time would always pass and he would watch.

A bird started to chirp somewhere in the treetops. Like a domino effect, others began to join in, their songs all out of order and strangely comforting.

Slowly he stood, walking along the edges of the treeline that protected the town of Forks. Almost everyone would be asleep. The idea entertained him and he almost laugh. It made no sense that days would pass more quickly for someone who never slept. Or maybe...just maybe it was because this gave him more time to dig into his own mind, to distract himself with theories and ideas. None of that mattered to him, though. He enjoyed not being able to sleep. This way he could see the stars more than anyone else.

He looked to the sky again, but there were no more stars. The day was beginning to take over the night. Dusk. Many people failed to realize that dusk came twice a day. Often it was assumed that dusk came just before nightfall. But dusk came about in the morning as well, and it was his favorite time of the day.

_'There is only one thing that could make this better,'_ he noted, leaning against a tree. That single thing, of course, would be to share the moments of dusk with another.

Another. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Mates were something that had to be created, not found. In his case, at least. He could have to create someone who he could bring up to his lifestyle of traveling. Someone who would not be corrupted by another coven and raised off of animal blood.

This someone was not the girl he met before. No, not at all. Still, she had sparked his interest. She could distract him from his morbid idea for a while.

"Good morning," he said softly to the horizon that held the small town. He smiled to himself, then sat down on the ground to wait.


	3. Chapter 3 : Explanation

**Chapter 3 : Explanation **

* * *

A shill sound rudely interrupted her dream as Jessica opened her eyes to the new day. With a groan she buried her face back in her pillow. This went on for less than a minute before she eventually got frustrated and sat up to turn off her alarm clock. It was Saturday. How dare something wake her from sleeping in?

_'What an odd dream,'_ she thought through a sleep-clouded haze.

Her morning routine went as usual. She showered and dressed, brushed her teeth, dried her hair, styling it to the point where he curls were perfect, then applied the little bit of make-up that she wore each day. This consisted of a light eyeshadow, mascara and chapstick.

She couldn't stop thinking about her dream. It had seemed so realistic. That man had been there, his skin colder than the rain had felt. She did her best to shrug it out of her mind and gathered up her pajamas, exiting the bathroom to free it for the rest of the family.

When she walked back to her room, she glanced at her jeans from the day before. There was a dark, wet mark on her carpet around the pile of denim. She stared, seeing the sopping pants. The mud on the knees was still there. It hadn't been a dream.

It began all returning to her, the way her mother had frowned when she walked in, seeing her covered in mud. Then there was the concern that took over after seeing the expression on her face. She had still been so daze from...him.

She shook her head, curls bouncing. _'Don't worry about it. It was weird, but you probably won't ever see him again.' _She did her best to convince herself. She knew most everyone in Forks and he definitely wasn't from around here. There was something foreign, almost exotic about him. He was odd.

Oh well, she had lived through it and that's what mattered. It would make for an interesting story to tell, that was for sure!

This was exactly the way it worked, too. Her other friends had failed to do their papers early, so the weekend wasn't available for hanging out. Monday came, finally, and she spilled out her encounter to the lunch table at school.

"He touched you!?" Mike frowned, growing protective.

"Yes, it was like he was trying to hug me or something," Jess explained through a bite of salad.

"That's no good," said Angela. "I wonder if he's still in town."

"Who knows?"

Mike, however, wasn't so easily calmed.  
"That freak. That's it, I'm walking you everywhere you need to go now!"

"What's going on?" Bella looked at everyone curiously, taking a seat at the table. Edward and Alice followed her, sitting as well.

"Some guy tried to accost Jess!" Mike was almost fuming.

"What?! When?"

"Friday night," Jess explained to the new arrivals. "When I was leaving the library."

Edward and Alice looked concerned, but Bella was the one who kept speaking.  
"Did you report it? I mean, Charlie didn't say anything to me about it."

Jess shook her head, suddenly looking a little bashful about the whole situation.  
"Well, no. I mean, he didn't actually hurt me. He just...came out of nowhere."

Edward seemed to flinch at the edge of the table and she looked at him with a blink. Alice and Bella exchanged looks, Alice looked more worried than before.

"Really, I'm alright..." Jess assured everyone again.

Lauren shook her head. "I think if you see him again in town you really should tell the police. At least let them know what happened."

"Fine." She gave in with a nod and went back to her salad.

Lauren asked her something else, but she just shrugged, not even knowing what she was answering to. Her thoughts went back to the strange man. It really hadn't been a dream, she'd come to accept that. Why had he acted so strangely like that? Why had she acted so strangely? It had been as if she had no control over herself. She hated feeling powerless. And why did he have to be so handsome? She pictured him again, or at least as much as she could with the rain blurring what she'd seen. His eyes baffled her the most. She could have sworn they were red.

Something crashed and it made her jump. Angela's soda spilled over in her own surprise, causing a small bit of girls screaming to ensue. She looked and saw that the crash had been Edward Cullen getting up so quickly that his tray had moved with him. He looked angry and she suddenly felt intimidated. Alice was now up too, trying to calm him. And who was screaming in her ear?

"It's going to stain! No!"

"Oh, Lauren," she sighed when she saw the soda that had spilled in her friend's lap. "Stay there, I'll go get a towel."

She got up and asked for a towel from the kitchen. She was grateful for a moment without people questioning her. What had upset Edward Cullen like that, though? She looked back over to see if he still looked angry, but him, Alice and Bella had all disappeared. It must have been a personal thing. Funny, she hadn't heard them talking about anything.

Lauren ran to the bathroom with the towel, Jess quickly on her heels.

"What's his problem?!" Lauren dabbed at the soda.

"I don't know. He looked angry." She shrugged.

"Seriously, is his crazy girlfriend contagious?"

Jess just sighed and helped get the soda out of Lauren's skirt.

"And what's up with you? You look like you've been in your own world all morning."

Now she froze, hiding behind her mess of curls. "I...do?"

"Yes. And quiet. Plus, you totally ignored me when I asked you if you did you homework for biology."

"Oh. Yeah, I did."

"Can I borrow it? I'll give it back at the beginning of class."

She felt a little guilty giving Lauren something that she'd been so distracted while working on it last night, but nodded anyhow.

The rest of lunch and biology went by quickly, mostly since her mind was in other places. Two more times Lauren asked her questions that she couldn't answer because she hadn't been paying attention, and two more times was she given sour looks from Lauren because of it.

The last class of the day she had with Bella and Edward. They both watched her in a way that made her nervous. Somehow she thought Bella looked worried. As soon as she thought this she saw Edward's hand reach for Bella's hand and hold it as if comforting her.

_'Weird,'_ she thought, and turned her attention back to the front of the room. She did her best to chase her mystery man out of her mind. She reminded herself that she probably would never see him again. She had wanted to tell Lauren what she really thought of him, badly, but was also glad she hadn't. If he had left town then she didn't want her friend to get annoyed by hearing about him constantly. She would find someone to tell, eventually. Maybe Bella? Bella was sort of strange in her own way. Maybe she would understand.

Finally the bell rang and she sighed in relief. The day was over. What now? She was almost tempted to go back the library, just to see...

_'No,'_ she told herself. _'That's silly. As if he would still be there, anyhow'_

She saw Bella and Edward whispering something, then watched curiously as the other girl started her way.

"Jess?"

"Bella?"

She smiled.  
"We were wondering if you wanted to do something with us tonight?"

Her brown eyes darted between her and Edward.  
"Um, like what?"

Bella shrugged.  
"I don't know, just hang out somewhere? Watch a movie?"

"Alright. I don't see why not?" So much for going to the library. "I have some homework I have to do first. After that maybe?"

"Sure! Do you want to go somewhere to see one or just watch one that one of us already owns? Though, I don't have any and I don't know what Charlie has..."

"I have a few good ones I'm sure we all would enjoy. Who's house?"

Bella and Edward looked between one another, telling Angela they hadn't actually thought about that yet, so she volunteered.  
"How about mine? I'll invite some of the others over to."

"Sounds good!"

It confused her that Bella's face looked more relieved than excited. 'I did just think that she was strange in her own way. Oh well.'

It almost seemed like they were trying to leave school side by side with her, but no one was talking. This also confused her. But Edward abruptly stopped at one point and she didn't ask why and kept walking.

"So odd," she said to herself, making her way to the parking lot. The rain had stopped for now, but she had no doubt it would return. The skies still looked dark and gray.

As she got closer to where her car was parked, she stopped, almost tripping, eyes wide. Someone was leaning on the driver's side door.

_'That man!'_

She looked around nervously. There were still enough people on the grounds that he couldn't try anything without being seen. Lauren's car was still here as well, so she would see when she came out. There were enough witnesses. Surely he wouldn't try anything with so many people around. Her pulse raced and she began walking toward him again. She tried not to make eye contact, remembering how it had made her feel before.

'What could he want from me? Why is here here?'

"Hello," he said with a smile that made her weak on her feet, just like the last time.

"Hello?" Her voice was a cracked whisper.

His expression looked almost sincere as he eyes her.  
"I came to apologize. My behavior the other nice was horrid. I wasn't quite myself at the time. I saw your car here and hoped you would be coming out soon."

She kept staring. His eyes really were as red as she remembered. They had to be contacts or something.

A small frown took over his expression.  
"I...do hope I am forgiven? If not, I would love to make it up to you."

"Um." People were staring at her now. There was no doubt they were wondering who this handsome man was. "I guess? I mean...you are. Sort of. It...was just weird."

"Yes, like I said, I was not behaving like myself."

"It's fine." Was it fine? Where was her head? Why did it feel like it was stuffed with cotton?

His smile returned, then he leaned over and gave a small bow that all but swept her off her feet.  
"Forgive my lack of manners. My name is Laurent. From this moment on, I am at your services, my lady."


	4. Chapter 4 : Infatuation

**Chapter 4 : Infatuation**

* * *

**Infatuate**: _verb_  
- To inspire with unreasoning attachment; to cause to behave foolishly.

* * *

I had to say, the look on the poor girl's face was amusing when I bowed. The action seemed to make her speechless. Humans were so easy to manipulate. Especially this girl. It was a shame that I would probably end up using her. 

"My...services?"

"That is correct. Whatever I can do to show you how horrid I feel for the other night."

"That's really...not-"

I held up a hand and she stopped her protest.  
"Please, allow me?"

She appeared to be thinking for a moment, but I knew how difficult it probably was for her to be doing so in my presence.  
"I suppose."

"Oh good!" I added extra enthusiasm to my voice, pleased when I saw how much it made her smile. She really was...lovely...for a human girl.

"I don't really know what I would have you do, though."

"Anything, really." I glanced at her books for a second, then back to her eyes before she could catch it. "I'm especially skilled in biology and calculus, if you take either of those. I've been a tutor for many people before."

As suspected, her eyes lit up.  
"Really? I'm horrible at biology. Calculus I'm alright with, I guess. But biology is hopeless."

"Well then!" It didn't hurt to throw the dramatic smile in. "When would you like my help? Tomorrow? Today?"

I could have sworn she nearly blushed, looking down at her books. "Well, I have a chapter review I have to do, and some studying for a test."

"Fantastic. Where would you like to do this?"

This time she did blush. My senses flared, but I controlled them, staying calm. She smelled absolutely delicious, but I kept my mind on the idea of making plans.

"Well, there's my house? Neither of my parents will be home for a few more hours, so there won't be any distractions."

_'You are a distraction, darling.'_ I nodded, pretending to think about that.

She bit her lower lip in nervousness.

"Jess?"

We both turned to see the blonde walking toward use, eyeing me up suspiciously.

"Oh, Lauren." Jess gave her a smile.

"Who's this?" She crossed her arms, looking between us.

Jessica was good at composing herself. She must have been trying to hide something. I wondered if she had told her friends about Friday night.  
"This...this is my tutor, Laurent. Laurent, this is my friend, Lauren."

The look in the blonde's eyes changed significantly. "Oh! It's good to meet you. Jessica never told _me_ she had a tutor."

I chuckled as I watched Lauren shoot a quick glare at her friend for the last part.  
"Well, I haven't been tutoring her for very long."

"Oh."

Jessica looked relieved. I had a feeling I was going to be thanked for that, shortly.

"Alright. Um, Jess? Call me later?" Lauren's eyes were anxious. I also had no doubt the two of them would be gushing as soon as they had personal time for 'girl talk.'

"Definitely!"

I nodded a goodbye to her as she walked away, then looked back at my victim. "Shall I meet you at your home then?"

"Yes," she looked around through the parking lot. It was not nearly empty, save Jessica's vehicle, a silver Volvo and a brown Buick. "Did you drive?"

"No," I answered with a small headshake. "I don't live that far from here."

So it wasn't entirely a lie. I lived wherever I sat down for the evening.

"Oh. Do you want a ride? Or do you need to go back to your house first?"

"That would be wonderful. I don't believe I need to." Time to throw in the manners. "Here, let me take those."

Her face flushed as I took her books from her hands. Then she smiled, assuring me I'd done the proper thing."Thank you."

"You're most welcome. Shall we?"

"Jess!"

I voice rang through the air and I paused, recognizing it. I turned around to see a familiar face.

"Bella?" Jess looked surprised.

"Yes. Um...what time did you want us to come over tonight? We never settled on a time."

Through the whole charade her eyes never met mine. I knew it wasn't because she hadn't noticed me. I could tell by her pulse that rang in my mind. I glanced over to see Edward Cullen leaning against the silver Volvo.

_'You would come along and make this complicated.'_ I sighed to myself. Almost as though he'd heard my thoughts, he smirked, but it was a dangerous smirk.

"Um. I don't know. An hour and a half? I need to get my work done."

"Alright. Sounds good."

There was no reason to keep up the act. I gave her a polite smile.  
"Isabella Swan."

She looked at me, fear in her eyes for a half a second, but she masked it over quickly.  
"Laurent."

Jessica looked quickly between us.  
"Wait, you two know each other."

Now Bella's eyes were locked on mine.  
"Yes. But I was under the impression that he...had moved out of state. Permanently."

"Oh, I had." I nearly laughed, amused. "Though, I suppose you could say that the ones planning it...did not have their affairs properly in order. So I saw no reason not to return."

"Ah." She looked at me a minute longer, then back at Jessica. "I'll see you then, Jess." Without another word, she walked off to Edward.

One didn't need to be a rocket scientist to see that this bothered Jessica. She was frowning.  
"I didn't know you two had met before."

"It's quite alright," I said with an attempt at a comforting smile. "It was a while ago. We've long since stopped communicating."

"Oh." That seemed to satisfy her. She walked over to her car and unlocked the doors. "Can I ask what happened?"

"There was a misunderstanding," I explained as I climbed in the vehicle. It really wasn't a lie. Everything that was being said was true, simply sugar-coated to protect the secrets. "We had a disagreement and I upset several of her friends. Granted, it was really none of their business in the first place, but they found themselves involved."

"Really?" Her eyes were wide as she pulled out of the parking lot. "Then what?"

I should have expected her to pry for information like this. It was almost amazing the way all her fear seemed to vanish once she was caught in gossip.  
"There was a fight."

"What? Between her friends and you? That's horrible!"

"Yes."

"Who won?" She was peering at me out of the corner of her eye.

"I did, in the end. They thought they were, however, for most of it."

She shook her head slowly.  
"Did they hurt you?"

"Yes." It wasn't a lie. It had taken me quite some time to fully recover from that attack.

She glanced over at me with a sympathetic expression. I could tell there was a jumble of words that were preparing to pour out. They were probably insults to Bella's friends or fusses over the idea of me injured. It was almost hilarious how I gave her a warm smile and all those words seemed to vanish, her eyes softening...and locked in mine.

"You might want to watch the road," I whispered.

"Oh." She nodded, still looking at me, then blinked. "Oh!"

I laughed as she enlightened herself and turned her attentions back to the road. This truly was fun. I sat back in the passenger seat and thought about what my plan of action was going to be. As much as I knew I was going to end up using this girl, it was still a pity. Though she was a bit like every other stereotypical teenage girl in the world today, she interested me. Not to mention she was considerate enough, even if it was unintentional, to spray herself with perfumes. The smell lingered in my senses and made the idea of overpowering her for a meal much less intriguing.

Her house had a lovely smell of potpourri that I was also grateful for. Though, the décor reminded me of something I would find in a house in the 1960s.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"No thank you," I responded with a hidden smirk. _'Nothing you would willingly give me, at least.'_

We sat on the floor with textbooks and papers scattered around us. I watched Jessica as she did her calculus, though I knew my attention was making it difficult for her. She kept glancing up at me, becoming distracted. I would smile and she would quickly look back to her work.

When all this was done, I turned to the chapter that she informed me her biology class was reviewing.  
"I figured we would begin at the part on the investigation of plant growth with natural light and synthetic lights."

She sighed.

"Or we could start somewhere else in the chapter?"

"No," she muttered. "That's fine."

I quickly came to the realization that my job as her tutor was not going to go in vain. We spent longer than fifteen minutes with me explaining to her what phytochromes were, alone.

"Look," she said in frustration. "I'm just not good with biology. I'm going to fail this chapter test and we all know it."

"No you won't," I said, my expression growing more serious. "Not if I have anything to do with it."

"That's easy for you to say," she grumbled.

"When is your exam?"

"Wednesday."

I nodded and scanned they words on the pages of the open book in front of me.  
"I will make sure you're ready for it."

She looked at me, baffled, but just shrugged. I had her explain what parts of the chapter she did remember and was knowledgeable of. I knew I had my work cut out for me.

Eventually she started to grow frustrated with the studies and her answers to my questions became silly, involving little effort. I sighed and closed the book. It was clear there wasn't going to be anymore progress with my 'tutoring' excuse tonight.  
"Very well. We can continue this further tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

I looked at her surprised expression and nodded, crawling over to place the textbook back on the stack of her others beside her.  
"Yes. You want to pass that test, do you not?"

"Yes..." She seemed to go spellbound from my sudden closeness.

"Good." I smiled and sat beside her, but kept careful not to make contact.

She shifted uneasily and I nearly smirked again.

"So," she began, as if searching for a topic.

"So...?"

She suddenly brightened.  
"What you were saying before, in the car. About when you knew Bella...?"

"Yes?"

"You...said there was the misunderstanding." She grew a little sheepish. "I was..."

I smiled when her words faded out.  
"You wanted to know what the misunderstanding was, but did not want to ask something too personal?"

"I...yes."

"It was silly, honestly. Dinner arrangements."

Her face grew hard and I thought she might be hiding a scowl. Was she growing jealous already? Foolish human.  
"What do you mean by that? You two weren't dating were you?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I had asked her over...for dinner, but she suspected...ulterior motives." It wasn't entirely false.

She smiled again, pleased by this news.  
"How did you meet Bella? You said it was long ago. Were you old friends?"

"No. Actually, I met her through the Cullen's."

"Oh." Her expression dulled a bit. "I should have known."

"Why is that?"

She froze as thought she hadn't meant to say the last part out loud. "I...well...it's just...you're exactly like them in several ways."

"Really?" I chuckled softly, wondering if she would ever even know the half of it.

The blush rose on her cheeks and I told my instincts to calm themselves. I'd come too far in this now to ruin it.

"Yes. I mean...you have similar qualities..." Her voice practically whispered.

"Like what?" My voice was almost purring to her and I leaned closer. Her eyes latched to mine and I knew I had hooked her. It would be pointless for her to try resisting.

"You," she stared in awe. "You're both...beautiful..."

I smiled at those words, looking into those deep brown eyes. They reminded me of melted chocolate. They were a brighter shade, yet rich and lovely...warming, even.  
"Do you think so?"

"Yes." She answered quiet enough that most humans wouldn't have heard. I doubt her own voice even touched her own ears.

"You're quite beautiful, yourself."

Her eyes hazed over at those words, her cheeks reddening more. I never broke the eye contact as one of my hands rose, playing gently with one of the locks of curls that fell over her shoulder. Something about her was drawing me in, much in a different way than what I was doing to her.


	5. Chapter 5 : Assumption

(I was sucked into writing this whole story so much that I failed to even notice I'd slipped into first person POV with one of the Laurent chapters. I like the way it's flowing, though, so I think I'll keep it that way :)Also, in response to something that was asked, no, Bella is not a vampire in this story. She wasn't aware of what was being said through Edward and Alice's thoughts at lunch, but was concerned since she knew something was going on. Edward had seen Jessica's thoughts and knew it was Laurent she had encountered, just as Alice had either seen Jessica's future or had simply asked Edward. Writing from a certain characters point of view makes it a bit tricky to focus on things such as that. I apologize for any hazy bits, but I'm only swimming through Jessica and Laurent's minds right now. Feel free to ask anything and I shall answer. Enjoy!)

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**Chapter 5 : Assumption**

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What had I ever done in life to deserve this? Whatever it was, I owed karma a lot. I'd known from the beginning, though I denied it to everyone, including myself, that I was developing a crush on this mystery man. Really, it was hard to look at him and think haw anyone couldn't! He was stunning...even more stunning than some of the male models I'd seen in magazines. 

Now here he was, sitting beside me, touching me! I felt like I was drunk on him. His eyes, red as blood...ew...no...rubies. Yes, rubies. His eyes, red as rubies, had captivated me entirely.

For a while I was entertaining the idea that he found me attractive. Why else would someone be so interested in becoming my tutor for free? I assumed he wasn't going to charge me for it, since it hadn't been brought up yet.

Right now, though...he was staring into my eyes, much the same way I was looking into his. I felt a chill of anxiousness creep up my spine at the thought that perhaps he really was developing emotions for me. He was so heavenly. Could heavenly creatures even have emotions? Maybe he was an angel...

Several things happened at once, after that.

I leaned closer to him, as if I were being pulled by a magnet I couldn't see. I wanted so badly to try to kiss him. Would he pull away? Would he kiss me back?

His eyes glazed over, suddenly, the muscles in his jaw tensing. I froze, looking at him. He looked uneasy.

Then the doorbell rang, causing me to jump in surprise. My heart rate flew sky high and Laurent was quickly moving away from me.

I stood, looking at him curiously. Why had he moved away so fast? He seemed a little old to be concerned about getting caught by someone's parents. I was turning eighteen in a couple weeks, so it wasn't as if I was 'illegal.' At least not for much longer. He had to be over eighteen, at least in his early twenties.

When I answered the door, the realities of the day came flooding back to me. I remembered the plans I'd made with Bella and Edward today. Sure enough, here they were. And the perplexed look on Edward's face was something I had never seen before.

"Hello," Bella said, pleasantly.

"Hi." I tried to bring myself back to my senses. "Um, come on in. We were just finishing up studying."

"Studying?" She gave me an odd look, as though she didn't believe me. It made me nervous, too. She knew Laurent better than I did.

"Yes...Laurent is helping me with biology."

I thought I heard Edward make a sound close to a choke, but when I looked at him his face gave away no sign of it.

"Really?" Bella walked in and looked over at Laurent, who was still sitting on the floor, leaning back against the couch.

Laurent looked over at them and smiled, though it seemed strained. I wondered if there was more he hadn't told me about knowing Bella.  
_'I bet they really did date, but he didn't want to tell me.'_

The sound of Edward tripping made me look away from my angel by the couch. I eyed the floor, but saw nothing that could have gotten in his path. _'Strange...'_

"So what movie are we going to watch?" Bella hovered in the entry to the living room.

I had to ask her. I'd heard his side of the story, so now it was time to hear hers. I grabbed her by the hand and started pulling her toward the kitchen.  
"Why don't we let the boys pick one out? You can help me make popcorn!"

"Um! Alright..."

Once we were in the other room, I nearly exploded, doing my best to keep my voice down.  
"Bella! You have to tell me about him. Oh my gosh, he's so amazing! I want to know _everything_! Please?"

She looked at me with genuine surprise, then hesitated.

"Please Bella? He said you two knew each other, and that there were misunderstandings."

"He...did?" She blinked at me, again looking a little shocked.

"Well, yes." I went about getting a bag of microwave popcorn out of the cupboards. "He said that there had been a fight with some of your friends and him because of it. He really didn't go into detail."

"Oh. What did he say the misunderstanding was, exactly?"

"That he wanted to have you over for dinner..." How could I say this? "And that you took it in a different way than he meant it to be."

A wry grin crossed her face and she looked away from me. I knew I was on the right track now.

"Is it true, Bella? I mean, did you like him? Really _like_ him?"

"No!" Her voice rose with the protest and I hissed a hush to her. "No, I didn't. Not at all. It was him that had the stupid interest in me."

I reaised a brow at her as she crossed her arms over her chest in an angry fit. Was this what Laurent had meant? Did she think that he liked her more as a friend when he really hadn't?  
"Huh."

There was a moment of silence between us that was broken by the sound of the popcorn beginning to pop in the microwave. Bella stared at it, but something seemed wrong. She looked worried.

"Bella?"

She sighed a little and leaned against the counter.  
"I don't trust him, Jess. Really. He wasn't, uh, the nicest person in the world to me."

_'Well, no one usually is when people they aren't interested in crush on them'_  
"Oh?"

She nodded and went back to staring at the rotating popcorn bag.  
"He gets what he wants, whether it's in a good way or a bad way. That's all I can really tell you."

She really did look worried, which also worried me now. Bella never hid her emotions very well. I tossed her words around in my mind for a while. I would just have to be more careful around him. There was company here now. It was company that knew him, too. So I would be safe now, right? That reminded me.  
"Is something wrong with Edward?"

Her brow scrunched.  
"No, why?"

"I don't know. He just seems so..._weird_...lately. Like every little thing makes him jump or something."

"Oh." She looked at the door of the kitchen as if it would give her the answer to my question. "I don't think he likes Laurent very much, that's all."

"Because of the misunderstanding?"

"Yeah," she smiled faintly. "That must be it."

That answer might have satisfied her, but not me. I thought about lunch today. I hadn't even mentioned Laurent's name yet when Edward had jumped up so suddenly. Something else had to be bothering him. The only way Bella's answer could have been true was that he would have had to know about who I was talking about. At the time I hadn't even known Laurent's name.

The smell of burning popcorn filled the air; a sign that we'd both been lost in thought for too long.

"Jess!!"

"Oh no!" I threw open the door of the microwave, almost nauseated by the smell. "Gross! Open the back door!"

She ran to do so while I reached for the bag.  
"Ow!"

"Don't burn yourself! A towel, get a towel!!"

"Yes!" I grabbed the dish towel and wrapped it around the smelly popcorn bag, then darted to the open door, holding the bag far out in front if me. I chucked it out onto the back porch.  
"It can stay there until it cools down! I don't want that in here, stinking up the house!"

We stood there and stared at the popcorn bag as it rolled, eventually coming to a stop. Steam was creeping off of it as the cool evening air hit it. It felt like we were staring at a bomb, waiting for the thin brown paper to explode and throw blackened, reeking kernels everywhere.

"So," Bella said after a few seconds. "Should we make another one?"

I blinked once and looked away from the bag. She did the same, meeting my gaze. As if someone had pressed a button, we both burst out in laughter.


	6. Chapter 6 : Sensation

(My character musings are starting to take over my head! I'm actually beginning to really enjoy this idea far too much! Haha. Tsk tsk. Naughty Laurent... Yes, just to clarify, I am a rabid Laurent fangirl. It happens. )

* * *

**Chapter 6 : Sensation**

* * *

I stayed where I was sitting while Edward hovered at the edge of the couch. I could guess he was thinking of all the ways he wanted to rid of me.

"Hello, Edward."

One of his brows twitched as he stared at me, accusingly.  
"What nonsense have you been feeding that poor girl?"

"Nothing that wasn't the truth, really. She seems to come up with her own conclusions on her own."

We both went quiet, just listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen. Our delicate senses could hear every word of their conversation even though their human ears could not hear ours.

Jessica's voice was the easiest to pick out.  
"He gets what he wants, whether it's in a good way or a bad way. That's all I can really tell you."

Edward nodded in response to that, which is what told me he had been listening in the same manner I had.  
"What _do_ you want from her?"

"Oh, the pleasure of someone's company is not allowed to be at the top of my list of cravings?"

"For you, yes. I have a slight notion that your biggest 'craving' is not her company."

The accusation really should not have bothered me the way it did.  
"Mind your tongue, Cullen. My intentions with her are none of your concern. If I only wanted an easy meal I would have taken her a while ago."

The small outburst seemed to make him think. He stared at me, piecing things out.

"He just seems so...weird...lately. Like every little thing makes him jump or something." That was Jessica's voice again.

I held back a snicker.  
"Does me being here really effect you so horridly?"

Edward glared a bit. "Considering the fact that you attempted attacking Bella, but were stopped by the dogs, yet somehow still lived, yes."

All I could do was smirk. I was irritating him just by living. I have no trifle with Edward or his family, but it was amusing that such a small action could keep him on his toes. James had been the coven's leader, yes, but I knew as well as the next person that he had stepped out of safe territory by hunting Bella. I was not as surprised as I should have been Victoria had told me of his death.

The smell of something burning filled the room and I stood. Edward had smelled it as well, suddenly alert and looking around.

"It's coming from the kitchen," I observed, heading that way in a lightening movement.

Both Edward and myself found ourselves standing at the door, silently watching two teenage girls toss around a bag of burning popcorn as if it were a snake.

"Ow!"

"Don't burn yourself! A towel, get a towel!!"

"Yes!"

And then the popcorn was sailing through the air outside.

"It can stay there until it cools down! I don't want that in here, stinking up the house!"

They stared outside and I looked over at Edward. He looked at me with the same bemused expression.

"So," Bella said after a few seconds, still not aware we were observing them. "Should we make another one?"

Then, the two began a series of giggles.

I blinked and slid back into the living room. Females were strange enough as it was, but this was the epitome of teenage estrogen.

"I agree," Edward muttered as he sat down on the couch.

"Pardon me?"

He looked at me, then shook his head. "You looked amused. It was an expression that didn't need words to be read."

"Ah"  
I eyed him for a moment, wondering if that was really what he meant.

They laughter kept pouring out of the kitchen, uncontrollably.

"They have to stop eventually, right?"

Edward shrugged, but a hint of a smile crept at the edges of his lips.  
"Maybe?"

I nodded, my eyes casually pausing at the stacks of DVDs beside the television. "I believe we're supposed to be picking one of those out."

"Oh. Right. Go ahead."

I hesitated, not having actually sat down and watched a movie in many years. My knowledge of what would be preferred by a crowd such as this was very limited. I told myself that in the end, all this work would be worth it.

The selection of movies consisted of none that I recognized. After reading the summaries on the back cases, I eventually picked out one that amused me to no end. Edward looked over when I snickered, but then went back to holding his seemingly disinterest position on the couch.

The two girls finally walked back into the room with a large bowl of unburned popcorn, their faces still red from laughing.

"Sorry about that," Jessica began. "My microwave is more powerful than I thought."

"Really?" I did my best to act surprised. "That would explain the burning smell?"

"Yeah. This bag was a success, though. Would you like some?" She sat down on the floor near me and offered the bowl in my direction.

"Actually," I began my refusal, then glanced at Edward and Bella who were looking at me with curious expressions.

"It's not poisoned, I promise." Jessica pouted, eating a few pieces of the popcorn as if to prove it. "And you've been here for hours, so don't tell me you aren't hungry."

Edward smirked at that and I sighed and took a handful of the popcorn. "You're quite right. Thank you."

She beamed, then asked Edward where the movie was that we'd picked. He pointed at the one I'd set away from the others.

I looked at the fluffy white popcorn in my hand, debating. She'd taken the bowl with her toward the television, so I couldn't slip it back in. There was nowhere to hide it. I mentally grumbled to myself and popped a few pieces in my mouth, taking my time on chewing. It was annoyingly dry and the taste wasn't something that appealed to me.

I caught Edward watching me with amusement and was about to glare at him when Jessica laughed.

"This one? I haven't watched this movie in a long time. It was a little...um...scary."

"Oh?" Bella curled up on the couch beside Edward.

Jessica grew a touch defensive. "Yes. But I'm sure it won't be as scary this time! Now that I've seen it before, I mean."

The credits came on.

"We should turn off the lights. It'll add to the effect!"

Bella and Edward exchanged a nervous look, then Bella spoke up.  
"Are you sure? I mean, didn't you say it was scary?"

"Yes. Oh, that's right. You didn't even like that zombie movie in the dark." Jess looked disappointed. "How about we turn them off and if it gets too scary for you, we can turn the lights back on?"

"Alright..."

I could tell by the sound of Bella's voice that there was another reason she didn't want to be in the dark. Was it perhaps because she didn't trust me?

As soon as the lights were out, Jessica curled up beside me. I declined the popcorn when she offered more and turned my attention to the television.

The movie wasn't as good at the old black and white films that I used to love, but it could have been much worse. Jessica jumped at several points. Once she clung to my arm and I looked at her.

In the darkness, her skin looked nearly as pale as my own. Her dark hair framed her facial features in delicate way. Her eyes were bright and alert as she watched the movie, widening at some of the more suspenseful parts.

For a brief moment I felt a pang of guilt. It was guilt that I was using her for a plan that wasn't even mine. It was also guilt that I had lured her into this affection against her own will. She had been given no choice in the situation. My actions had been selfish and my conscience was trying to weigh them on me.

"Jess, can you pass the popcorn?"

She jumped at the sound of Bella's voice, then handed the bowl to me since I was closest. I passed it over to Bella. I used the chance to glance at the two on the couch. Bella seemed indulged in the movie and Edward was looking at me with a thoughtful expression. I raised a brow at him before turning back to television.

About halfway through the movie, Jessica uncovered some awkward surge of confidence and tried to take my hand. I moved it away by reflex. Quickly I searched to find her facial expression, hoping the action hadn't hurt her. Instead, she looked surprised.

"You're cold! Do you want me to get you a blanket or turn the heat up?"

"No, I'm fine."

She didn't seem to believe me, so I added with a hope of humor. "Really. Maybe I'm just cold-blooded?"

"Alright..." She still passed a worried look, but curled back up against me.

The movie was nearly finished when someone else entered the house. Jessica shifted just a little, so she was still sitting beside me, but no longer touching. A woman I guessed to be her mother peeked into the living room, gave us a hello, then slipped into the kitchen. I guessed these movie nights were something she was used to.

The end credits rolled as Jessica began to give her very opinionated remarks about what we'd just seen. I nodded and agreed in the spots I thought to be appopriate to so.

Finally I stood and nodded to the group. "Well, it's been a wonderful evening, but I think I should be heading out."

"We probably should get going, too," Bella agreed. "Charlie will have a cow if I come home too late."

"Oh," Jessica pouted, then nodded. "Alright. Laurent, do you need a ride home?"

"We can drop him off if you'd like," Edward suddenly said, jumping into the conversation.

I personally could not have cared either way who offered.  
"If you would like, that would be fine."

Bella and Jessica started their good byes, Jess whispering things that I politely did my best not to overhear by stepping outside. Edward followed me out, now standing a few feet away.

I looked over at him, meeting his gaze. He was still suspicious.

"How did you do it?"

"What?" He raised his brows.

"When you first met her. How did you interact with her without her picking out all your odd traits?"

He looked away, breaking the eye contact.  
"I didn't."

"Pardon?"

He shook his head, then began to explain.  
"She guessed what I was. I tried to distance myself, just as you were doing, even with the slightest touches. Bella is a bright and intelligent girl, though. I did not take her long to see that something about me was...inhuman."

"Ahh..." That did not help me at all. I had no intentions of letting Jessica figure me out.

"Why do you care, anyhow?"

"Am I not allowed to be curious?"

Edward growled quietly, then stepped closer, now an inch from my face, his own tensed and stern. "Listen to me. Jessica is a friend of Bella's. If you hurt her in any way I'll make you wish you would have let those wolves _destroy_ you."

This was more of what I had expected. I smirked at him. "Now that's more like it. I was beginning to wonder if you had become domesticated to human ways. I will...be in the car, so to speak."

Without another word, I jump off the porch and darted into the forest faster than any mortal eye could see.


	7. Chapter 7 : Division

(Someone made it aware to me, recently, that only the first few words of this chapter showed up for them. sigh So I've reuploaded i and am hoping it words. If it doesn, please let me know. If it does work, and you've read this far, for that matter, leave me a review. I'd like to know if I'm still grabbing peoples' attention or not! Thank you!)**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 7 : Division**

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me you met him?!" The voice over the phone lectured, ruthlessly.

I sighed, repeating this for what felt like the eight-thousandth time during this conversation.  
"Lauren, I told you, I had only talked to him once before. I didn't want to say anything in case he changed his mind about tutoring me."

I rolled onto my stomach on my bed, my feet waving in the air above me. Lauren continued rattling off about him, saying how cute he was and so many other things I already knew.

This is why you've been so distracted," she accused.

"Maybe. Look, I have to get to bed."

"Fine."

"See you at school tomorrow."

I hung up the phone and curled up under my blankets. Tonight had been interesting. Laurent had stayed during the entire movie, right next to me. His presence made me feel completely giddy, as though I were fourteen again. Unfortunately, it also made me feel as helpless as I was when I was that young.

Laurent was different, that was for sure. Something about him was strange. It wasn't a bad sort of strange...just unique. His skin had been so cold. Just as cold as it had been that first night when he touched me. Subconsciously, my hand rose and touched my cheek where has fingers had first made contact.

_'Stop being silly,' _I thought. _'You'll see him again tomorrow.'_

He had to be an angel. There was no other explanation. He was too perfect to be anything else. I wanted so badly for it to be true. I wanted him to be my angel.

That night I fell asleep thinking about him.

The next day went about in a similar manner. I woke up, went to school, dealt with nine hundred questions from my friends about who Laurent was. They all wanted to know how I met him or if we were involved. They only ones who didn't pry were Bella and the Cullen's.

Just as yesterday, there he was, standing by my car, waiting for me after my last class let out.

"Good afternoon, my lady."

I nearly blushed. If I kept this up I was going to start looking like Bella. "Hello. Let's get out of here."

Laurent gave me an odd look as we climbed into my car. I did my best no to make eye contact with either him or any one else who might have been staring at us. I gunned out of the student parking lot, quickly.

"Where's the fire?"

"What?"

He chuckled. "Why in such a hurry to get away?"

"Oh. I just...want to be away from school." It seemed like a reasonable excuse.

"And here I was, thinking it meant you could hardly wait to spend some quality time with me."

"What? No! I do! I--" My words were cut off by the sound of his laughter

I threw a slight glare in his direction, but focused back on the road. I knew I wouldn't be able to look at him for longer than a few seconds before I melted. This would not do. I couldn't take him home with me, my mother would be there today. The road came to a fork and I turned the opposite direction of the one I usually used to head home.

Thankfully he was too busy laughing at me and reading over the pieces of paper in his hands. At a glance I saw that some of them were my biology notes and others were in a tiny neat handwriting that I couldn't see well.

_'You would have beautiful handwriting, too, wouldn't you?,'_ I thought with a sigh. I was waiting to find something about him that wasn't actually perfect. _'My angel.'_

Though I was driving, I hadn't really been thinking about it. It wasn't until we passed a few small shops that I realized I was driving toward First Beach in LaPush. If I played my cards right this could be extremely sappy and romantic.

I parked the car and Laurent looked up from the papers he had been so previously distracted over.

"Well, look at that. You remodeled your house overnight."

I snickered and climbed out of the car. "I just thought, well, you know, this would be a good place to study?"

"Mmhmm," he hummed, eyeing me skeptically.

We found an appealing rock that was big enough for the both of us to sit on while we began the tutoring. Laurent asked me more specific questions this time than he did before. I actually knew many of the answers to these ones. It was as though he had gone down a level in our progress. I wasn't going to complain though.

"Let's try some true or false. Simple, but they make you think."

"Alright."

Out of all the true and false questions, I only missed two. There were probably ten or eleven, so it really wasn't that bad, especially considering my reputation with biology.

"See? I told you that you would catch on to all of this."

I grinned at the pleased expression on his face.

"You're right. I might actually have a chance with this test."

He laughed, but it was a quiet sound. "I would place a bet on you having more than a chance."

"You should lay money down for things you aren't sure of. I mean, what if I purposely failed it or something. Figuratively speaking, of course."

Laurent just smiled and looked out across the beach, admiring the powerful waves as he spoke.  
"Either way, you still would have the chance. Whether or not you chose to take it is your decision."

I watched his eyes grow more distant as he stared off.

"Oh, I usually always take the chance."

A small smile creeping across his lips was the only reaction.

"Do you take chances, Laurent?"

That caught his attention and he looked at me, those deep eyes freezing me where I sat.  
"Jessica. I take a chance every moment that I spend with you."

"What...do you mean?"

His gaze suddenly intimidated me. He wasn't threatening me in and form, now was he being harsh, but that look in his eyes...it was almost indescribable, like there was something wild and dangerous hid beneath those red hues.

"I mean that," he hesitated, but regained himself. "Being with you here is not the wisest idea for me. Or you, for that matter..." He faded it away in a whisper.

Now I was purely confused.  
"Again, what are you talking about?" I spoke, using my arms to gesture the area around us. "This? This is LaPush. What could possibly happen?"

You would have thought someone struck him with lightening right then and there. His eyes snapped open wide and his face suddenly paled even more than it already was. I wouldn't have thought it possible.  
"LaPush?"

"Yes?"

Laurent was then looking around, breathing deeply, scarlet orbs darting from the forests to the brush, then back to the forest.

My papers were handed back to me as I stood. "Jessica, I give you my deepest apologies, but I must be going."

"What? Why?" Papers scattered as I stood up too. Who cared about those notes? They were study tool and would be useless to me after tomorrow.

"I...really am sorry." He stared at me with a sad expression...and then I was being embraced. I think my heart stopped for several beats as I was wrapped up in his arms. It wasn't a warm grasp, but it was enough to make my body feel like it was on fire, stunned.

"Good bye, Jessica. I should not have led you in to this." He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Go to your car. After that head straight home. Do not look for me tomorrow, or the next day."

"Why?" It was hard to speak through the hypnotizing gaze of his.

"Just listen to me, please?"

"Where are you going?"

I thought I saw him twitch once, then he stepped away before I could grab on to his shirt as I reached for it. "Laurent! Wait!"

He disappeared into the tree line, running faster than I'd ever seen anyone run. Not even the students on the track and field teams could go that fast. I stood there, waiting, some glimmer of hope still remaining that he would reappear.

_'What did he mean by that? Don't look for him?'_

Then the comprehension washed over me, just like the tides that were rolling in and out just yards away.

"No!" I leapt down off the rocks. The heel of my shoe twisted and I winced. It didn't sprain, but it still hurt. These just wouldn't work. I kicked off my shoes and ran in the direction he had.

"Laurent! Come back!" I dove into the forest, calling his name at the top of my lungs.

Sticks jabbed at my feet and muck splattered up the sides of my legs. I didn't care, though. My angel was trying to leave me. Things were just going the way I wanted to. I'd seen the way he looked at me. I'd felt it in his embrace. He wanted to be with me. He had to!

I wailed his name one last time, then stood there, listening. I could hear the sound of the waves behind me, back where I had run from. They sounded distant and I started wondering how far I had actually run.

"Hopeless," I whispered to myself, looking around the forest. The canopy of the trees made the entire area beneath it a dark green, blocking out what little light the sky gave.

Something made my senses tingle and I paused. I sniffed my shift, then exhaled, softly. It smelled like him. It was an odd mixture of things...spices, maybe cloves as well. It was a comforting sensation, but not enough. Now, not only had he run off, but I was in the woods alone, barefoot.

"Good job, Jessica," I muttered, then turned around to begin trudging back toward the beach.

When I turned, something startled, the bushes rustling. I let out a scream of surprise and jumped back.

Something growled.

I screamed louder.

Again it made feral snarl, deeper this time, drowning out my voice entirely.


	8. Chapter 8 : Retraction

**Chapter 8 : Retraction**

* * *

That retreat had been a difficult thing to do. Perhaps it had even been one of the most confusing and complicated moments. The look on her face flashed in my mind, torturously.

_'No! Now is not the time!'_

My teeth ground together as I ran faster. I could hear her calling my name. I couldn't return. Not now. I was putting her in danger just by being near her. I could not be too upset at her for bringing me to LaPush. She had no way of knowing.

She would be safer now. Was this what Edward had done to Bella? Was this why I had encountered her by herself in the meadow? She had lied to me at that time. I knew they had left, but not why.

A scream ripped through my ears and I skidded to a halt.

"Jessica?"

A growl followed the shriek.

"Jessica!!"

Using a tree to push off of, I began back toward where I had left her. It was amazing, really. This whole time I had thought I was running at my fullest speed. This moment, however, I soared nearly twice as fast.

I heard yet another scream, then a louder growl

_'No!!'_

I ran so fast it felt my lungs were going to explode. I had no need to breath, but I still did, inhaling the oxygen so deeply that it hurt.

I followed her sent, cursing. Why had she run into the woods? I could smell her strongly now. I was almost there.

Not even thinking about what I was doing, I flung my entire body between Jessica and the beast that stood before her.

There, in front of me, was one of my only true fears in life. It was one of the same very beasts that had nearly killed me no so long ago. My knees felt weak, but I reminded myself why I was making this blockade.

"Laurent!"

"Get back!" I held my position in front of her, arms spread. I could feel the growls rumbling in my chest, though I vaguely remembered initiating them.

The gigantic wolf snarled at me. It's body shook a bit, saliva dripping right off it's gums. My scent must have been on Jessica from when I hugged her. She was guilty by association as far as this was concerned. It would be foolish to think they hadn't recognized my smell. My secret was out. Her screaming my name wasn't helping either, I'm sure.

In a flash of fur, the canine dove at me. My arms flew up as a shield, teeth snapping. The pain was nothing compared to what it would be if I were a frail human. I wasn't even certain if i could take one single werewolf, but I had to try...

Yelling obsenities, I struck a blow to the side of the creature with my foot, hard enough to send it tumbling through the brush.

The wolf let out a howl. I saw Jessica cover her ears with another yell of fear. It was calling for the rest of the pack. In less than a minute I would be significantly outnumbered

"We have to go! Quickly!"

At this point I didn't care. I scooped Jessica up into my arms and held her close against my body, then ran as fast I could, using every bit of energy I had and praying to whatever almighty powers looked down on us to give me speed. I felt her trembling against me as the trees flew soundlessly past her us. Those beautiful brown eyes were wide with terror. Another wave of guilt flooded through me and I hurried to reach the end of the forest. It couldn't be that much farther. I could smell the opening ahead.

I read once about a movie director who had done an analysis on accidents; car accidents, mainly. In movies they are always dramatized, happening in slow motion, usually with loud explosions and hundreds of screams, car pieces flying every direction.  
In all reality, they were nothing like that. Accidents happened quickly, giving little to no reaction time. Glass will shatter and the sound of metal on metal will be heard, but that is usually all. Fast and leaving any bystander with a gawking mouth.

This was like that. There was no warning, no scream, no reflex time. Something dodged in my path. I slammed into it, filling the forest with the sound of collision, ricocheting back several meters. All this time I held my arms securely around Jessica. I was already on the ground before I was hoping she was alright. I knew the impact could have easily injured her, but my left shoulder had taken most of the full blow.

I laid there on the forest floor, mud and twigs scattered around us, the growling coming from all directions. We were surrounded now, the werewolves circling us, ready to attack...but that was the least of my worries.

"Jessica?"

She shook so hard that my own body was shaking, she was looking up at me with an expression that could only scream of true fear.

"Jessica," I whispered, more softly, stroking her hair. "Are you alright? Please, say something."

Her teeth chattered from her shaking, eyes staring at me. I was half frightened she was about to go into shock.

The snarling continued.

"Shhhhh, calm down. Shh. I'm here." I ran my fingertips over her cheek, leaning over her protectively.

Tears began rolling down her cheeks, but to my relief, her shaking started to calm. I sat up, slowly, and pulled her onto my lap, cradling her body against my chest.

"You're safe," I lied.

Her eyes closed and she grabbed a handful of my shirt, clinging to it. She gasped as she fought back sobs, but she was otherwise still now.

I lifted my head, finally, and looked at the circle of canines around us. They had all gone quiet. One was missing. I glanced around, eventually looking over my right shoulder to see a young man, watching us. He was looking at us with a facial expression that consisted of all confusion, sympathy and anger.

"Kill me, if you must," I stated to him. "But let her go."

"No!" She wrapped her arms around me, taking everyone in the clearing off guard with the outburst.

"Jessica," I murmured, staring at her.

She looked up at me, her face streaked with tears, still.  
"No one is going to kill you!"

The man, who I would later learn to be Sam, the alpha of the pack, stepped forward.  
"Jessica Stanley...?"

She quickly turned to him, shuddering just slightly.  
"Go away..."

"You need to let go of him," he growled quietly.

"I won't!"

"He's a monster!"

"He is not! He's an _angel_!"

The moment of silence that passed through at the time was priceless. I gazed at her, speechless. Is this what she really believed? And even if she had, how could she say that after everything that was happening right now.

"I am no angel, Jessica..." My voice was so quiet, I wondered if she had heard it

She wasn't done. She turned and gave a glare that could have been worth a thousand daggers toward Sam.  
"I don't know what the hell you are, but all of you are the monsters!"

Sam blinked at the insult.  
"You think this? We were trying to save your life, Jessica."

"I wasn't in danger!" She was starting to shake again, but it was with hatred this time.

"You were with that leech. Your life is lessened with every minute you spend with him," he scowled.

She shifted in my lap and I started to protest. She shot me a look that hushed me immediately.

"Jessica," Sam continued.

"No," her voice hissed. "_You_ listen to _me_. We did nothing wrong. Did you here that? Nothing!"

"He was on our land! We don't allow his type around here..."

She walked right up to him. Several of the wolves step forward with a low growl. Two of them had also changed back to their 'human' forms and were watching intently.

"_I_ brought him here." Her eyes narrowed. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but blame _me_ if you have to blame anyone. Excuse me for being a criminal because I brought my tutor here to help _me_ study for a biology test!"

One of Sam's brows raised in confusion. "Your...tutor...?"

"You heard me."

I had to say, at this point I was growing amused.

Sam shook his head, looking at her with faint disgust. "Never, _ever_ bring one of them here again."

A hand rose and cracked across his cheek, the sound lingering. Everyone stared. Sam's eyes were wide with shock. Slowly he reached up and touched his cheek.

Satisfied, she all but strutted back over to me. "Let's go, Laurent."

"Yes, ma'am."

When I was up, she grabbed my hand and started dragging me through the woods. I wondered if she even had any idea if we were going the right direction. Needless to say, I wasn't going to question her right now.

I had never had to try so hard to keep from laughing before. The pack was left behind, amazed and bewildered over what had just happened.

"Can you imagine? Trying to tell someone they aren't allowed to walk on public property. Of all the nerve! And look at my clothes! Oh, they are so going to pay for this..." We were almost to her car now.

"Jessica...?"

"Do they honestly thing that just because they can do that weird hocus pocus crap and change into wolves that they have the freedom to chase people around?!"

Jessica...?"

"And insulting you! You so amazing! What do they know? You saved me back there! How does that even remotely make you the bad guy?!"

"Jessica!"

She stopped and looked at me with a blink.  
"What?"

"You..." I oogled at her for a moment. Her hair, already wild and untamed, was all over the place, pieces of leaf and twig caught in it. Smudges of mud ran across her cheeks. And those bright chocolate eyes caught me again. "...are so incredible."

She looked at me for a couple seconds that felt like years, then smiled softly.  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that quite yet."

"Why?"

She unlocked the passenger door to the car, then went around to her side, as she was getting into the vehicle and starting it up, she was sill smiling. It was too sweet of a smile. It almost looked like there was a touch of hysteria behind it. "Because, you have a _lot_ of explaining to do."


	9. Chapter 9 : Intersection

(Well...this story has gotten much more in depth than I had intended it to, as most of mine tend to, while I'm not looking. I never expected it to lead up to this chapter. I prewarn you, I was listening to "The Reason" by Hoobastank for the majority of it. It's somewhat become my theme song for this whole fic. 

Enjoy! Reviews make for a happy writer.)

* * *

**Chapter 9 : Intersection**

* * *

The drive back to Forks from LaPush was about twenty minutes. I made the vow to stretch it at least a half an hour, regardless of how badly I wanted to get home and clean myself up. There would be more time to talk.

Laurent sat in silence in the passenger seat. His eyes stared at the dashboard, his expression quite unhappy.

I was still waiting for answers.  
"Really, I want to know what in God's name just happened back there"

"I assure you God had little to do with it."

I rolled my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.  
"Fine! What the hell happened back there?"

"That's more like it." He gave a humorless grin, still not looking at me.

"Well?"

"What do you think happened?"

"Laurent, I have no idea! All I know is that there were suddenly like...eighty huge wolves. You were running faster than anyone should be able to run. While carrying me! Then everyone was throwing insults at each other."

He nodded a single time and sat back more in the seat, closing his eyes now. I wondered if it was coincidence that he relaxed the moment we left the borders of LaPush.

This was harder than pulling teeth! Not that I'd ever done that before.  
"Please tell me? Because I'm seriously contemplating my sanity here!"

He laughed, but just like the smile, it was dry.  
"I do that every day of my life, anymore."

"That's nice. Can you answer my questions?"

"As long as you ask me direct questions, so I know what I'm answering."

Oh. That seemed fair enough. Where to begin.  
"The wolves. Where did they come from?"

He was silence, but I could tell he was thinking. His fingertips began to tap on his knee, while his brow furrowed.  
"Did you see those boys toward the end?"

"Yes."

"Did you see where they came from?"

"Well, no." Truthfully, I hadn't.

"So, what? Do you believe those wolves were tame beasts? Pets who belonged to those boys?"

Those wolves had been anything but tame. I glanced over at him again, then back to the road. He obviously wanted me to think about this.

So, the wolves hadn't belonged to the boys. Circus animals? No, no, that was just silly. They had talked about killing. Were they some odd hunting experiment? No, that couldn't be it, either. That one boy, Sam. I remembered meeting him at the beach party that one year. When my mother had asked who all was there, I told her about him. She'd said he was sort of a goody-goody. All the adults in the town thought he was grand. I was out of theories.  
"I have...no idea."

"They _are_ those boys, Jessica."

I blinked and looked over at him again, searching for any hint of jest. His face was serious; too serious to be playing games.  
"What?"

He sighed, but it wasn't frustrated, thankfully.

"You mean...?"

I thought some more, searching. Those boys had been in that circle. Some of those wolves were gone after that.  
_'They weren't really gone. They were the boys. Sam...and the others'_  
The look on my face must have mirrored my realization.

"Many of the youth from that reservation were there."

"Like...werewolves?" My voice cracked as I said the word.

"Correct."

I stared ahead for a bit. This had to be some joke. It couldn't be a joke, though. I was there. It was real. A glimpse over at the shredded sleeves of Laurent's shirt proved it. There were monsters living here, close to Forks, to my home. A thousand questions jumbled in my mind, but one in particular stood out.  
"So why did they call _you_ a monster?"

This must have been the part of the conversation he wasn't looking forward to the most, because he shifted in his seat again and looked out the window.  
"I am not exactly human, myself."

_'Of course you aren't. You're my angel'_  
Cute references aside, I frowned. "What do you mean? Are you one of them, too?"

"No," he answered quickly. "Not one of them."

"Then what?"

"Do you..." His voice was soft and quiet. "Do you believe in supernatural things, Jessica?"

Really, I hadn't before. Not until I met Laurent and started thinking about the impossible. Tonight has swayed that even more. Some small bit of me was being strong, keeping me from freaking out about all of it. Whatever that bit was, made me nod.  
"I...guess so?"

"And things such as werewolves and vampires?"

Werewolves, I hadn't been given a choice with. Vampires, though, I rolled my eyes.  
"Well, no."

We stopped at one of the only traffic lights we'd encountered so far and I looked over at him. He was gazing at me with an expression that seemed sad and...very tired. Then it occurred to me.  
"Wait. Are you saying that...you...?"

He raised his brows a little, urging me to continue.

"...are...a vampire?"

"I am."

Whatever the bit was from before that was keeping me sane snapped. I couldn't move while I gawked at him. I tried to keep what he had said in mind. Vampires...were usually beautiful. I had seen the movies. The actors were always beautiful. If this was true, then it made sense. Laurent was by far more beautiful than them, because no human could ever hope to be so. The circles under his eyes...were those because it was daytime? Did he sleep in a coffin somewhere? Why was his skin so cold? Was that because he was...dead?

"Jessica, the light is green now."

"Oh!" I slammed my foot on the gas pedal and flew forward through the intersection, looking at the light.

I felt like that traffic light right now. There was this huge intersection on top of. Everything was meeting and somehow I was in the middle of it.

"Does Bella know?" She had been a friend with him, after all.

A corner of his mouth twisted to a weak grin.  
"Yes."

How odd. Why hadn't she told me? It wasn't exactly a secret that Laurent and I were spending time together. Why wouldn't she warn me? Maybe it was because he wasn't dangerous. He wasn't a real monster like those things in the woods.

"Alright. So...you're a...vampire."

"Yes." Now he started looking amused at the reclarification.

"And those things were werewolves."

"Again, correct."

"So why did they want to kill you"  
_'Another difficult question for him to answer,'_ I thought as I saw him fidget again.

"You see," he began. "I did something that displeased them."

"Like what?"

Another hint of discomfort came from the silence. This was something else he must not of wanted to answer.  
"I...was hunting someone that they cared about."

"Hunting?" I looked at him curiously, but it dawned on me. In the movies, vampires drank blood. My eyes widened.

I was sitting here in my car with someone that could kill me. He could bite me. He was...not a monster. No. He couldn't be. He was too nice. Now I just had to keep telling myself that.

"Are you frightened by that?"

"Yes, but I don't think that you'll hurt me," I whispered, hopefully.

I waited for him to agree with me. My heart started to beat rapidly when he said nothing. Was he really going to kill me?

He shifted in his seat again and I somehow managed not to jump. He moved closer to me and I tensed. I was close to screaming, when he leaned in...but he simply laid his head on my shoulder.

"No," he murmured. "I won't hurt you."

I exhaled, relief flooding over me. I could hear him breathing softly, just inches from my ear. I thought it strange that a vampire would have to breath.  
"Thank you."

We said nothing more until we entered Forks. I chose to break the silence again.  
"So that's why they were mad at you?"

"Somewhat. There was more to it."

More. Just what I needed.  
"Like...?"

"They attempted killing me once."

I almost slammed on the breaks then and there.  
"What?!"

He sighed and lifted his head.  
"Not that long ago. They chased me from what I had been...hunting. And I'm quite certain they believed they had destroyed me. Until today, that is..."

Until today. Had I put him in danger?  
"I'm...sorry..."

He looked at me with surprise.  
"No, do not be. Never be. None of it is your fault."

Now we were nearly to my house. The sky was starting to grow a bit darker. I didn't want this to be over.

"Would you like to come in for a bit?"

He shook his head and I had to hold back a pout.  
"It may not be best for me right now. I think I should be--"

"Jessica?"

My mother cut him off as she came walking around the house. She eyed the car with curiosity, then made her way over. This could get bad. I was covered in mud, still. Both of use were.

"Mother." I smiled and got out of the car. I heard his door shut, telling me that he had done the same.

She looked at me, then at Laurent.

"Mother, this is Laurent. He was here last night, watching a movie with us."

"Hello, Mrs. Stanley," he said politely, with one of those smiles that made my heart stop.

She blinked at him, then back to me, then at our clothes.  
"What have you kids been doing?"

"Well..." What could I say?

"We were racing through the forest," he answered for me, chuckling. "I tripped and accidentally took your daughter along with me. None of us were hurt, so we've simply been laughing about it."

"Oh." She gave me a bewildered look. "The forest?"

Now it was my turn.  
"Yes. We were studying for my biology test tomorrow, outside, since it hasn't rained yet today. We got bored after a while."

Her look was not convinced. She turned back to Laurent.  
"You are in the same biology class as my daughter?"

"Oh, no ma'am," he grinned. "I've been tutoring her for the upcoming test."

She gave a few blinks, then smiled.  
"Well! Jessica, you never told me about this. I'm impressed that you took it upon yourself to go that needed step."

"Mother," I groaned.

"Oh come of it. If the young man has been tutoring you, I'm sure he knows what I mean."

They passed a knowing grin and I sighed.

"Will you come in and have dinner with us, Laurent?"

"No, but thank you for the offer." He shook his head, still smiling. "I have plans already, this evening."

"Oh." She looked disappointed. She glanced around, I could tell she was looking for his car.

I couldn't think of an excuse for this one. I couldn't tell her he lived right down the street. I knew he didn't. I knew every home and family within walking distance from here. Maybe if I told her I was only coming home to change my clothes, before...

I heard the sound of a vehicle and turned to see a silver Volvo coming around the corner. I knew that car.  
_'Cullen...?'_

It stopped beside us and the window rolled down. There was Edward Cullen. He looked at Laurent.  
"Am I early?"

"No," he looked relieved, then turned back to us. "I'm sure I'll see you both again soon."

My mother gave an "I hope so," and a "drive safely," but I blinked, confused.  
"Alright."

He smiled, then got in the car. I watched it drive off. Had he made plans with Edward in advance? It had to be the case, unless Edward somehow knew. That was about the time it struck me...

_'The Cullen's._

_Laurent._

_The similarities._

_This was how Bella knew.'_


	10. Chapter 10 : Resolution

( I really appreciate all the good reviews. :) There are so many things in this story that keep taking me by surprise. I recently discussed some of Laurent's personality traits with Stephenie (as in Mrs. Meyer) and feel a little less as worrisome on whether I'm portraying him incorrectly or not. Many of the moods he gives make me blink in confusion and wonder if I've made him respond wrong since that side of him was never hinted at. But the answer is simple, really- the reason we don't recognize it is because he was never placed in such situations through the series. And here I am introducing him to puzzling encounters. 

On that not, chapter ten! Enjoy! )

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**Chapter 10 : Resolution  
**

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"Thank you." 

"For what?"

I frowned at the underlying hostility in his voice.  
"For so coincidentally coming along at the perfect moment."

Edward glared ahead, saying nothing. I wasn't surprised by his speed of driving, so different from Jessica's.  
"Am I at least allowed to ask where you are taking me?"

"I can hear peoples' thoughts, you know."

I blinked in surprise.

"I wasn't that far away. I could hear you coming closer. I could hear her mind...every bit of it."

"I see."

Anger was all but rolling off of him now.  
"You violated our treaty."

"No. I am not one of the ones who agreed to your treaty. I know very little about it."

"And that knowledge might be what saves you."

As true as my words were, I did not like the idea of placing the Cullen's in a bad place with anyone. I knew they were a good family and did little to disrupt the balance around Forks. All they wanted was to live, happily.

"You told her."

I looked over at him. The fact that he'd heard her mind was proven a bit by the way the words came out in more of a statement than a question.  
"Yes."

"Stupid." He shook his head.

"How do you figure?"

He started his way up a road that was almost overgrown with foliage. I recognized this.

"Because she could easily go off and tell anyone. You're putting all of us in danger."

I frowned at that. It wasn't as though I had been given much of a choice. I hadn't asked Jessica to take me to LaPush. I hadn't asked the pack to attack me for the second time. I hadn't asked them to reveal themselves to Jessica. Sure, I could have killed her right then and there. Well, no. Actually I would not have been able to bring myself to. Beside, doing so would have meant another death wish for myself by the dogs.  
"I was a touch caught between a rock and a hard place. There was no other option that would not involve something fatal."

His face relaxed a little, listening to my mental explanation, I assumed.

"You're one to talk, yourself."

His eyes shut for a half a second, then he nodded.  
"I know I endangered my family."

"Yet you have no regrets."

"No."

I looked at him dead on, just so he knew how serious I was.  
"And neither do I."

He must have picked it up, because he looked back at me, silently. No words were needed for him to figure out whether my statement was truth.

We turned into a small break off the street, over a large span of grass. The Cullen's house laid at the end of it, along the tree line. I had seen this house twice before. Neither time was a good memory.

The first time had been when we first met the Cullen's. James had gone off on his hunt with Victoria tailing him. I had been the only one to return with them our hosts. It was upsetting, really. I felt apologetic for my convenmates' behavior, but there was nothing I could do. I was thankful that Carlisle had been able to understand that.

The second time was when I had first arrived back in the area from Alaska. Victoria had asked me to get the lay of the land for her. I hadn't truly wanted to take part in her whole chase, but since she hadn't been asking me to physically interfere, I had agreed. The Cullen home had been empty. It had smelled desolate, which is how I knew Bella had been lying when I found her later.

Edward growled quietly. I cleared my mind of the memories, while we pulled along side the other vehicles.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Because we have things we need to discuss," he stated as we made out way toward the house.

As we stepped inside, nostalgia rushed me. The room was filled with the wary eyes of the Cullen family, watching me.

"Laurent," Carlisle said in his usual kind voice.

"Carlisle." I gave him a friendly nod.

"It's good to see you return, and on a less hostile note this time."

"Yes." I'd always been appreciative of Carlisle's kindness. Regardless of what James had done, he had never been angered at me specifically. "It most certainly is. Thank you for having me, though I have to say I'm quite curious as to why Edward brought me here."

"Hmm, as am I." He looked to Edward.

The younger vampire stepped forward and cleared his throat quietly, before he began. "It seems as if Laurent has little intention of leaving for quite a while. I figured that it would be in the best interest of all of us if we made him aware of the rules of our treaty."

"Edward," I muttered. "Why would you get the impression that I don't intend to go my own way soon?"

"You think you can just walk away from her so easily?"

Silence filled the room and I felt all eyes on me, most with surprised expressions. I opened my mouth to say something, then gave up and sighed softly. That was enough of an answer. Right now I couldn't see myself leaving Jessica behind. Not right now, at least. I was enjoying her company...even if it was dangerous.

"I see there are things we are not aware of," Carlisle said, soothingly. "Shall we all have a seat?"

This brought us to the large table in the dining room of the home. It must have been placed there for meetings such as this.

"Laurent seems to be in an interesting situation," Edward began, arms crossed over his chest.

"Ironic is the better word. And if you do not mind, Edward, I would like to explain my 'situation' myself."

He nodded at this and glanced at the girl I knew as Alice Cullen. She was smiling, as though she knew something I didn't. I wondered if she had the same ability Edward did, or similar.

"As some of you may be aware, the pack of LaPush was under the firm impression that they had killed me."

All of them nodded. I was not surprised.

"I find myself wondering how I survived it as it is. There were a series of...faults...in their actions. The procedure was done in a very inexperienced manner."

"How did you get away?" Carlisle asked me, genuinely curious.

"Well, they could not hover forever. As soon as they vanished, thinking me done for, I dragged myself away with...what limbs I was able to." I tried not to cringe, but I knew the effort was unsuccessful. The memories must not have been pleasant, for I saw Edward wince.  
"I pulled myself to the beach. It was raining, so I had no fears that my trail would be followed. So, I laid there, at the bottom of the shore. Eventually my body recovered itself well enough for me to swim further north. The salt water was none too pleasant, so I resurfaced and took up shelter in a forest near Lake Ozette."

Alice tilted her head, slightly.  
"How did you feed before that? In the bottom of the ocean?"

I wrinkled my nose a bit, disliking remembering this.  
"Fish. Many of them."

My expression was mirrored by several of them.

"I found a stray hunter at one point and finally gave my body all the energy it craved that sea life was unable to replenish me with. After I was certain I was well-healed enough to return to travel, I did so. Curiousity brought me back here. I was simply crossing through Forks when I...I ran into a girl."

The room tensed.

"A girl, who still remains human." My voice lowered to a near whisper, probably inaudible to anyone but us. "Even after my visits with her."

"Well," Carlisle murmured. "How unexpected."

"And don't leave out the details of today," Edward spoke up.

"Ah." I hesitated.

"Today?" That was Emmett speaking, if I remembered correctly.

I nodded, slowly.  
"I know little of the treaty your family has with LaPush, so I seldom thought about it. Today Jessica took me there. I was not paying attention to where she was driving. We were...approached."

"Oh dear." Esme covered her mouth with one hand, looking concerned.

"We escaped them...unharmed, save some fabric." I glanced at my sleeve. "After that, I explained everything to her. I felt she had the right to know. I couldn't...I couldn't...well...bring myself to rid of her, regardless of what she may know."

"Oh, most certainly not." Carlisle stood. "We are not the types that would encourage such a thing, obviously."

I sighed in relief. I had heard before of vampires who would kill humans who knew too much, without hesitation. The Volturi were one example of those.

The next hour was spent in an in-depth explanation of the treaty. Carlisle told me about how he first arrived to Forks and met with the Quileute orders. He explained their concern, but the agreement that had been made. They would allow Carlisle and his family to stay here without exposing them, as long as they did not bite or feed off of humans.

Later that evening I found myself outside the Cullen home, staring out at the forests. The sound of the river in the distance eased my tensions. It really was a beautiful place for a house.

So here I was. It was similar to Alaska, though I had gone there by my own choice. I could leave at any moment without feeling like I was walking away from anything. Here it was different. Though, I was going to have to succumb to the same rules if I wanted to remain in the area with peace.

_'Perhaps this time I will not cheat,'_ I told myself. The Cullen's had not brought up the encounter I had with Bella in the meadow. I was more thankful for that than I could explain. Not once, however, did I suspect they had forgotten about it.

I'd been given the offer to side with the Cullen family before. I had denied it then, so what was to make me not deny it now? I'd fled to Alaska to find the Denali coven. Maybe it was because I did not want to find myself on a weaker side. It sounded selfish to think of it that way, but it was probably the truth. I'd found many things there to keep my mind occupied for a while, at least.

_'Irina.'_ Yes, Irina. She was beautiful, intelligent, and had the ability to love most any man. I'd been told it was because of her and her sisters that the legend of the succubus existed. Somehow I was not surprised.

I could go back. I could hole myself back up with those beautiful women.

"But would you be happy with that decision?"

I whirled around at the voice suddenly behind me.  
Edward stood at the door of his home. The look on his face told me he'd been overhearing a few thoughts of mine. I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.

"Irina, hmm?"

I frowned.  
"She is an intriguing woman."

He just nodded and stepped closer to me, looking out at the forest.  
"Nothing compared to what you're feeling now, though?"

"Do not assume you have any grasp of my emotions." My eyes narrowed a little as I glared at him.

"Oh, of course not." He smiled a little, but it was a forced smile.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

He stilted his head a bit, in the same manner that a curious pup would, then whispered, softly.  
"_La tua cantante_, perhaps?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing." He chuckled, then looked at me. "In a much milder source, it seems."

"I don't understand a thing that you're saying."

Instead of answering my words, he turned and made his way back into the house.


End file.
